$11-million in provincial funding is aimed at helping Chatham-Kent and the community of Wheatley continue to recover from the 2021 gas explosion.
Wednesday’s announcement came just a few days shy of the two year anniversary of the August 26th blast that leveled two buildings, left 20 people hurt, and resulted in the evacuation of 67 households and 44 businesses.
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, Grayson Smith, says the province will continue to provide support to the residents of Wheatley for as long as help is needed.
“I want you to know that the Ontario government is steadfast in its commitment to stand with this community as you continue to recover and as the municipality faces ongoing emergency management expenses,” Smith said during a news conference at the Wheatley Fire Hall. “The provincial response and support has been significant over the last two years, but we know that the impact and the financial burden on the community has also been immense, and more support is needed.”
Of the $11-million in funding, $8-million goes to the municipality for emergency expenses such as gas monitoring, security, and ongoing external investigations; $3-million for continued risk management and efforts to increase safety infrastructure at the explosion site, and $225,000 is earmarked for the community’s recovery task force.
Smith says the safety of the community and its residents continues to be the top priority.
“I think there have been some occasional (gas) readings, but with the new equipment in place obviously it’s a safe site. That said, that’s why there are additional monies as part of this as well, to continue that work to see if there’s any more subsurface gas that can be mitigated in any way, so that work will continue.”
The Minister was in Chatham-Kent this past June, announcing $2.5-million to help with ongoing emergency management expenses in Wheatley as well as $23.6 million to develop a province-wide strategy for identifying and plugging old oil and gas wells.
Figures show there are roughly 27,000 oil and gas wells, primarily on private land in southwestern Ontario. To date, 415 inactive wells have been plugged across Ontario.
CKXS News will provide more coverage of the two year anniversary of the Wheatley explosion and ongoing work in the community in the days to come.
